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IMPROVEMENT IN PBSSARIBS.

E. B. HARDING, M. D., OF N ORTHAMPTON MASSACHUSETTS.

Letters Patent No. 59,999, dated .November 27, 1866. i

" SPECIFICATION- TC) ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: i

Bc it known that I, E. B. HARDING, M. D., of Northampton, Hampshire county, Commonwealth of Massachnsetts, have invented certain4 instruments for the cure of Prolapsus uteri, consisting of an improved form `of Pessary, and certain improved mechanical means to facilitate the introduction and removal of the same ;V and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon.

In order to more fully show the utility of my invention, I will first explain the nature of -the disease it is intended to remedy. From its situation in the lower part of the body, the uterus is subjected to great pressure from the weight ofthe smaller intestines. This pressure is increased byfeculent accumulations in the large intestines, by tympanitic distensions, by adipose deposits in the omentum, and especially by the contraction of the muscular parietes oi' the abdomen, in Yall efforts of standing,` walking, running, straining inV defecation, vomiting, 8m. Under this pressure, and the varied strains to which they are subjected, the ligaments supporting the'uterus frequently relax, allowing the uterus to fall from its natural position and assume others more or less dangerous to the health of the other organs and the general health of the body.

My invention consists in an instrument for supporting the uterus in its proper position, andin additional instruments for replacing it in position, and withdrawing the support when no longer necessary.` In `this description I refer to the accompanying drawings, and to letters thereon; in which drawings- 1 y Figure 1 is a vertical section of a female body, showing the uterus in a. state of Prolapsus,` with the pessary partially inserted.

Figure 2 shows the uterus in its natural position, and the pessary supporting it.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the pessary, as I construct it.

Figures 4, 5, and 6 show 'the instruments for insertion and removal.

My improvement in the form of the pessary has arisen partially from a discovery made by me, relating to the anatomy of the pelvis and vagina. It has before been supposed, and has been generally so described in medical works, that the upper wall ot' the vagina was attached to the pelvis near its lower edge, at a; but I have discovered that it is not attached at this point, but higher up on the pelvis, as shown4 in the drawings, thus forming a sack in which the ends of the pessary may be placed when it is inserted. As pessaries have ordinarily been made, they have, for ease in insertion and removal, been necessarily made short, so that they might` be turned when inserted; and consequently the ends have not been long enough toreach the pelvis, and have rested upon the wall of the vagina, and upon tissues not adapted to receive so much pressure. I form my improved pessary as shown in the drawings, and it is inserted as shown, the' curved or angular part` at 6 acting on the part c as a fulcrum to raise the uterus by pressure applied outside, upon the 'ends of the pessary; and when the whole of the` pessaryhas been entered, the ends are moved upward, and enter the sack formed by the attachment of the wall of the vagina to the pelvis, as before mentioned, thus forming a reliable and comfortable support for the uterus, and one not liable to displacement, and not interfering withthe ordinary functions of the parts. I arrange'the ends, as shown, with the loops or eyes g h, in order to form a blunt end, so that no injuxy maybe done to the tissues, Src., in insertion, and also for a more important purposefto facilitate the removal, as Iwill now show. The removal of the pessary has been peculiarly diliicult, from its being so short, and the ends being so spread out in the interior that it could not be gotat'readily. To remove it I use the levers A B, formed asl shown,which being inserted into the vagina, are hooked on to the ends of the pessary, as shown' in iig. 4; these parts, A, B,

are then -united at C, and the ends of the pessary being drawn together, as shown inig. 5, it is easily removed.

The instrument shown in iig. 6 s used to raise the uterus in cases where it has become impacted, previous to the insertion of the pessary, and operates upon the same principleas Y the pessary, excepting that it is withdrawn after raising the uterus, and is not fully inserted in the vagina, and the handle is usually long enough to give greater power than can be obtained with the pessary alone. v 4

Now, having described my invention, what I claim vas new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A pessary, constructed with the loops g h, arrangedsubstantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In combination with apessary so constructed, the levers A B, arranged and operating substantially as set'forth. y ,i

3. The instrument shown in fig. 6, when constructed and operated in the manner and for the purpose substantially as set forth.

E. `B. IEIARDUG` J. B. GARDINER, EDWARD W. HYDE. 

